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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

A 1970s Counterculture Bash at Zodiac News Service. Were You There?

September 5, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 11 Comments

It was a 1970s counterculture bash at Zodiac News Service. If you were there, pls help ID these party-goer pix. (Be patient. Lots of photos to upload!) Read more.

Widowed: Archiving My Husband and Zodiac, His Scrappy 1970s News Service

August 1, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

Zodiac-News-Service-Nov-11-12-1972

Can you archive a dead spouse? Can you stash them away in a temperature-controlled academic repository, to be preserved for centuries?  Read more.

Sixteen Years Left to Live. How Many Bowls of Froot Loops Is That?

June 6, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

froot-loops-at-my-grocery-store

In the sixteen years I’ve got left, how many of the gotta-do items on my to-do list will I get done?  Read more.

Maybe I Want a Facelift After All

January 31, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

window-with-houseplants

Facelifts that leave your cheeks looking like you’re facing into 100-mph headwinds are not for me. Or are they?  Read more.

Where to Throw a Throw Pillow? On the Bedroom Floor, of Course

December 6, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

bed-styled-with-pillows

Where to throw those fancy decorator throw pillows? At my house, if you’re getting into bed, you throw them on the floor.  Read more.

I’m a Grammar Geek: I Don’t Get Nauseous. I’ve Never Received a Kudo. And I Never, Ever Lay on My Yoga Mat

October 25, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

stack-of-yoga-mats

I’m a grammar geek and I’m old: I don’t get nauseous. I’ve never received a kudo. And I never, ever lay on my yoga mat.  Read more.

Linguist Anne Curzan: Grammar That’s Funner Than Ever

September 13, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

says-who-book-cover-curzan

A kindly University of Michigan linguist, Anne Curzan, makes grammar funner than ever with her new guide to usage, “Says Who.”  Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Tudor Bungalows in the Twin Cities—Little Houses With a Big Sense of Humor

tudor roof with round arch above the window in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Can a house have a sense of humor? I never gave it thought until I visited Minneapolis and was treated to street after street of droll Tudor bungalows. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

Huston Smith at Sagrada bookstore, oakland, ca. 2009. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Religion Scholar Huston Smith at 93 — ‘Be Happy!’

Two flowers, one thriving, one not remind me of Ann Patchett and her friend Lucy. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Ann Patchett — My Brand-New Favorite Author

woman's-eyes

My Coronavirus Nightmare — I’m in a Crowd of People and I Forgot My Mask. Sheltering at Home Week 9

Stars and Stripes. A man hangs the American flag on the front of his house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The American Flag Is Flying in My Liberal, Elitist, San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhood Today. Here’s Why.

MORE DON'T MISS!

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